True Colors
by lotusflowerlove6
Summary: My name is Chrisanne Takahashi. I work for the Digimon Data Squad, United States branch, but I was recently transferred to Japan. I wasn't planning on my world changing... I didn't plan on loving these people and Digimon. I'm not one for careful planning; sometimes, we have to let destiny take control. The world is changing, and we're in danger. I will not let my world fall apart.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N... I do not own Digimon.**_

__Washington Prep High is the creepiest place at night. I've officially decided it. The halls were dark, and I swear it was as if the shadows were going to jump from the walls and attack me. My friends and I split up in order to cover more ground, and I ended up in the computer lab. The computer screens were off, the room was dark, and the only light came from the pale moon outside. Suddenly, I heard something. I turned sharply to see if I had been followed. Nobody was there.

It was probably just my nerves. Nobody's supposed to be in the school at six in the evening. If anybody caught us, we could be suspended or expelled. Well, any other student would be suspended or expelled. We're not here for fun. Our job requires us to do this kind of thing every night. Really, it's just freakin' awesome. _Bzzzzt._

There it was again. I took a defensive stance just in case something was to jump out at me. _Bzzzt._ Static. That's what it sounds like. I looked around. This doesn't make sense. All of the computers are completely shut down. Suddenly, a screen flashed white. Another. Another. One by one, the computer monitors all turned on.

I pressed a button on the communication device in my ear, "Kendra, Rory, it's in the computer lab."

"On my way," Rory replied after a short pause.

"We're coming too," Kendra answered as well, "don't do anything stupid, Chris." No promises. If this thing makes a move before the others get here, I can't help myself if I have to do some quick thinking. We don't know how dangerous our target is right now. I stood still and waited.

I was starting to see my breath and feel goosebumps on my arms. The temperature was dropping. It was obviously _in_ the computer lab. Only problem is that I couldn't see where the little shit was hiding. I held my only form of protection in my right hand, ready to use it at any moment.

"Chris, we're waiting outside," Rory reported. At that moment, laughter surrounded me. It sounded malicious and taunting. I couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from because all of the computers were giving off the laughter.

"What is that?" Kendra asked fearfully. I guess they could hear it outside too.

"Keep calm," I advised her calmly, "it' gonna show up sooner than later. Hey, when this is over, do you guys want to get pizza?"

"Are you crazy?" Rory snapped, "We have to take this thing back to headquarters."

"Okay, how about after that? I'm sure the guys would want something to eat," I mentioned.

"You would be right," Hunter's voice spoke through our wireless receivers.

"Can't you guys focus for two minutes?" Valentine sighed heavily on the line.

"Hey, I'm freezing in here," I snapped irritably. "This thing's just trying to screw around, and if it doesn't show up soon, I'm setting this whole school on fire."

"Chris..." Valentine started to scold.

I felt like something was watching me. I could _sense_ it watching me. I smirked to myself. Well, it has great timing, "Hold that thought, Val." I whipped out my gold and white Digivice. "Coronamon, realize!" I held out the hand held cellular phone-like device in front of me when I gave the order. My partner materialized from a bright ball of data. Coronamon stood in front of me in her crimson, feline-like glory. Coronamon's form resembles that of a crimson furred lion cub standing on its hind legs with golden claws, a ball of fire on the tip of its tail and on in the middle of its forehead, black bands on its wrists, and thick, wild tufts of golden fur on its chest.

"Corona-knuckle!" she exclaimed and punched at the purple shadow in front of us. Her fists glowed from the heat of the continuing punches. Finally, the purple shadow of the Impmon slammed into the whiteboard and reverted to a purple and red Digi-Egg.

"You guys can come in now," I told my friends and picked up the Digi-Egg. Now that it wasn't a threat, we could take it back to HQ without any trouble at all. "Good job, Coronamon," I praised my partner and scratched the top of her furry head.

She looked up at me with clear blue eyes and smiled, "Thanks, Chris."

"Looks like you guys finished this one quickly," Rory commented and looked around. The screens went dark as soon as the Impmon returned to its Digi-Egg state. Rory's one of my best friends. She's a Caucasian girl with choppy sandy blond hair and brown eyes. She goes to school with me, and we share a job.

"So let's get back to base and order that pizza," Kendra advised with a wide grin on her face. Kendra's my other best friend and another member of my team. She's biracial, a year older than Rory and I, and attended the same school as us. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her green eyes laughed even though her face was calm. She was so ready to get out of this place.

The Digimon Data Squad, United States branch, is stationed in New York City. It's just another skyscraper, but the DATS logo is unmistakable. Most of the floors are just holding cells and labs. The actual bas floor is on the sixth floor. It's filled with computers and screens and a chair in the center where our commander usually sits and watches. Tonight, Bearmon sat in her place with a tub of popcorn in hand. Bearmon looks like a little black bear with a white snout and belly. It wore a dark blue baseball cap with the bill backward and matching bands on its arm and one across its body.

Sitting in front of the screens at their desk jobs were the guys. Hunter Aguilera and Valentine Harris. Hunter's Hispanic, brown-haired, amber-eyed, and tall. He's the same age as Rory and me, but he acts like he's twelve most of the time. Val's the oldest of us, and he should really be going to college or something. He's eighteen, half-Italian, brown-haired, green-eyed, and more mature than the rest of us. Sitting at the other computers were their Digimon. Hunter's partner, Kotemon, looks like a purple lizard on two legs with dark purple and red kendo gear on and a bamboo sword in hand, but his little sword was sitting next to him instead of in hand like usual. I've never actually seen Kotemon's face behind its mask, but its eyes appear to be glowing yellow orbs. Labramon's actually works as more of an intern than it helps out behind the screens. Labramon looks like a real dog, but its coloring gives it away. Three sharp claws, red irises, and a purple tail and ears.

As the Digimon Data Squad, it's our job to keep the peace between the two worlds or humans and Digimon. We return Digimon that cross over into our world from theirs by turning them back into Digi-Eggs and sending them back. There isn't that much activity in New York, but we have to travel all over the country and sometimes into Canada and Mexico to do our job.

"Good job, Chris," Hunter said and spun to face us in his chair.

"We were there, too, Hunter," Kendra smacked the back of his head jokingly.

"Well, yeah, Kendra, but you never do anything," Hunter laughed. This time, Kendra actually punched him in the face.

Val sighed and continued his typing, "You shouldn't provoke her like that."

"Where's Commander Pierce?" Rory asked and looked at Bearmon who was now putting a handful of popcorn into his mouth while watching us. Bearmon shrugged. I deadpanned, those two need to keep better track of each other.

"She was talking to someone last time I checked," good, old, reliable Val stated.

"Since when does she take calls at work?" I asked and took a handful of Bearmon's popcorn. As soon as I pulled my hand out, the Digimon wrenched her bucket of popcorn away and turned her back to me. Jeez, so much for sharing.

"It sounded pretty important," Val shrugged.

"She sounded pretty _pissed," _Hunter corrected.

"Who do you think she was talking to?" Kendra asked and sat in front of one of the computers.

The door to the control room opened automatically. Our commander stood there looking thoroughly aggravated. She wore a long navy blue trench coat with a red collar and cuffs unbuttoned over black slacks and a white button down blouse. Commander Jackie Pierce is twenty-seven years old, African American, and one of the most vicious people I've ever seen when she doesn't have her morning coffee. "I think we're gonna find out soon," I replied.

"I need a coffee," she stated and collapsed in her chair. Bearmon barely had any time to scramble off the armchair before Commander Pierce sat down.

Val got up and walked to the table in front of the wall of windows with the coffee maker. "That must've been quite the phone call," Hunter remarked with a grin.

Commander Pierce sighed and massaged her forehead, "I'm so sick of these foreign dignitaries or whateveer they are."

"Well, who was it?" Rory asked curiously.

"What happened?" I added. I know that there are other DATS branches all over the world, but they never actually talk to us or anything. I mean, we never have a need to contact each other.

Val handed Commander Pierce a steaming styrofoam cup of coffee which the Commander gratefully took in her hand, "Japan. They want us to send reinforcements."

"Why?" I asked and walked to the mini fridge next to the coffee table. I got something for Kendra and tossed it back over to her.

"Things seem to be busier in _that_ hemisphere, and they think we could spare a member or two," Pierce sounded more exasperated than I've ever heard her before.

"So, what? Are we going to Japan?" Rory asked.

"Well, I can't send all of you, can I?" Pierce sighed, "I _am_ still running an operation here. No, only one of you will be going."

"I'll be packing my bags, then," Hunter rose out of his seat and flashed a grin.

"Sit your ass down, Aguilera," Commander Pierce snapped and took a sip of her coffee. "I'm sending Chris."

"What?" Hunter demanded and leaned forward in his chair to glare at me until he finally leaned so forward that the chair flipped back.

"If you don't mind me asking, Commander Pierce," Val's approach was much more eloquent than his friend, "why are you sending Chris?" All eyes were on me, and I wanted to disappear.

"Well, let's put it this way," Pierce sighed, "how many of you slackers can speak Japanese?" That settled that. I guess I'm going to Japan. Some time around eight, everyone went back home except for Val, Pierce, and me. Commander Pierce wanted to talk to me about my mission in Japan. I would basically be on loan to Japan indefinitely.

"I don't see why they couldn't have gone to the Europe branch for this," I said under my breath while going through the file regarding my mission. It's amazing how quickly they can have all this stuff ready for me over one phone call.

"Oh, they did," Pierce said and worked her way through her second cup of coffee that night. "Europe sent one of their very best."

"So why the hell am I going?!" I demanded. That's just ridiculous. I'm sure that Europe could spare another Japanese speaking member of their team.

"They could only spare that _one_," Pierce said. "You sure you can do this, Takahashi?"

I sighed and put the file down on the table, "It's not like I have anything better to do. Make sure that nobody does anything stupid while I'm gone." Then I went home. I would fly to Tokyo the next day. It seems to me that preparations had already been made prior to this phone call or the government must really like us. Maybe both. When I got home, I realized that I never got to order that pizza.

**_A/N...Please Review. I hope you liked this little intro. I don't have my spellcheck or grammarcheck on right now, so until I get Microsoft on this Mac, please forgive any small errors. _**


	2. Chapter 2

The DATS base in Japan looked like a triangular building constructed of glass and concrete with one main building rising from the middle. I've been to Japan before, but I never noticed that building, I guess I never thought it was that important. All the plans had been made before I even landed. I had an apartment set up with a fully stocked fridge and running water and electricity. They even gave me a cell phone with a fully paid plan.

I met Commander Sampson on the first floor. He's a tall Japanese guy in his thirties with short hair and a white weasel looking Digimon draped on his shoulders. He wore the same trench coat as Commander Pierce. I guess all Commanders in this line of work do that. He asked me questions about my flight and how I was settling in, the Digimon, that is. Sampson just briefed me on what was occurring and a case that I was going to start on immediately. I guess it really is all work and no play with these guys.

"I look forward to working with you," I said in Japanese. Okay, I'm half-Japanese and half-British so that makes me the only Japanese speaker on the U.S. branch. As Commander Pierce mentioned before, and that means I'm the only one who could take the request. I called the girls while I packed last night, and they wanted me to take this job. It would be a good experience, they told me. I agreed. Not much goes on in the States regarding Digimon, and if they need me in Japan, then I'm going to look forward to it.

"I'm right about this. I feel it in my gut," a voice stated confidently on the other side of the door.

"That's the extent of your proof?" another voice ridiculed, "Your gut?"

"Who woke you up? Go back to sleep," the first voice retorted. Well, those two seem to have a beautiful friendship going on.

"Yeah, right, you're just jealous cause the boss stopped screwin' up and found a case," a higher voice added.

"He's _still_ screwing up if you ask me," the other voice retorted. "You can't accuse a boxer of cheating just because he's winning fights." Well, he has a point there.

"Ha!" the firt voice exclaimed and continued with his argument.

"Sounds like quite the team you have in there," I remarked, "shouldn't we go in?"

"Let's see how far they take this," the Commander suggested.

"Many fighters win their championship later in life, and with age comes more experience. Maybe he's just a fighter now," the other voice defended fervently.

"Maybe you should stop making excuses for the guy," the first voice retorted. Then Commander Sampson stepped forward and the door automatically opened for him.

"Norstein, I'd like you to take over an undercover investigation regarding a boxer named Harris," Commander Sampson walked into the room, and I followed at his heels with Coronamon close at my side.

"But Commander..." the second voice protested. The speaker was a blond boy with blue eyes wearing a blue uniform. The only other boy in the room had shoulder length brown hair with a ponytail and a uniform similar to the blue one but in red.

"A thorn, found in the rafters of Harris' last fight," Commander Sampson took a petri dish containing the evidence out of his pocket.

"A thorn?" the brunette boy asked.

"At the lab," Sampson continued, "we discovered it gives off a Digimon signature." The blond looked completey shell-shocked at this statement.

"Ya see?!" Ponytail demanded.

"See what?!" Blondie shot back, "Ignorance?!"

A young woman with short magenta hair came between them, waving her arms frantically, "Time out! Let's not worry about who's right or wrong. Let's just investigate, okay?" She wore a uniform like the boys, but in fuschia.

"Fine, even though I'm right," Ponytail said indignantly.

"Now that that's settled," Sampson said, "I'd like you to meet Chrisanne Takahashi. Norstein, you're taking Takahashi with you today. Show her the ropes."

Hold on. I wasn't aware that I was going to be working with anyone right off the bat, let alone be 'shown the ropes'. I've been at this long enough to know what to do. "Great, another rookie," Blondie, uh, Norstein, mumbled.

"I'm no rookie," I snapped. I've been on a plane all night and haven't gotten any sleep. Japan is thirteen hours ahead of New York. I should be sleeping right now, but nope, I have to start working with a guy who apparently has a stick shoved up his...

"Takahashi is from the United States branch of the DATS program," Sampson explained. "She's the best they have." Well, that's flattering. At least he acknowledges that I know how to do my job. "Just show her how we do things around here."

"Fine," Norstein relented. "Just don't get in my way." He walked right past me and out the door followed by a blue wolf-like Digimon with boxing gloves. I read all of these people's files the previous night, and I knew who they are and who their partners are. I just choose to go through with the introducions, I find them polite...unlike some blond guys.

"Well, he's charming," I said and crossed my arms.

"If you're into jerks," the boy with the ponytail scoffed. "I'm Marcus Damon, glad to see someone here isn't on the Thomas fan bus." So I guess that guy was Thomas Norstein the boy genius. Doesn't seem like a genius to me. "This is Agumon," he motioned to the gold skinned lizard walking on two legs. Okay, seems legit.

"Pleased to meet ya," the Digimon exclaimed.

"I'm Yoshi Fujieda, nice to meet you," the girl said politely.

"And I'm Lalamon," the floating flowering bud Digimon introduced herself.

"I'm Coronamon," my partner stated, "you've already met Chris."

"Takahashi, you better not get left behind by your ride," Sampson advised.

Wait, that Thomas guy's supposed to be my ride? That would've been nice to know. "I'll talk to you guys later then! Bye!" I waved and ran to the elevator, willing it to move faster. I was relieved to see that the black car hadn't left yet. An elderly man in a penguin suit held the door open for me. The car had a red interior and seemed longer than most vehicles. "Thank you," I said gratefully and climbed in. He closed the door when Coronamon got in and walked around to the driver's seat.

Thomas Norstein and his Digimon partner sat across from us, "Forgive me for being so rude. I don't usually make such terrible first impressions."

"It's not a problem," I replied. "You seemed kind of riled up. Happens to the best of us. We can start over, I guess. Well, we can make a better impression on each other than the ones we have now, because, honestly, you kinda seem like an ass, and I really hope you aren't because I can't work with people who piss me off." I extended my hand to him and smiled earnestly, "Hi. I'm Chrisanne Takahashi, but you can call me Chris. This is Coronamon. I look forward to working with you."

Thomas shook my hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Takahashi. My name is Thomas H. Norstein, and this is my partner Gaomon."

"You're the boy from the Europe branch," I stated. "You have an impressive reputation, Mr. Norstein." Honestly, I'm not sure if I should call him Thomas or Tom or Mr. Norstein or even Sir or Your Highness.

"Thank you, Ms. Takahashi," Thomas Norstein said coolly.

"Please, call me Chris," I said to him. "So, where are we going?"

"We need to start on this case. Do some research, watch some of his fights, and see if we can get an interview with him." Sounds easy enough. It's pretty much the same thing we do in New York. Thomas didn't speak to me very much after that. He just looked out the window and watched the city pass by. I couldn't think of anything to say, and I don't think that he really wanted to strike up a conversation so I sort of fell asleep.

"Chris," I felt something fuzzy shaking me, "Chris, come on, we're here."

"Not now, Coronamon," I groaned and turned my back to her.

"Ms. Takahashi," a collected voice said, "if you wish to sleep, at least do it in the house so I can begin my research." Who was that again? It wasn't Hunter or Val. Those guys would've just left me in the car in peace. So...who could this possibly be?

"Chris," Coronamon pleaded, "Mr. Norstein wants to get to work. You're not being very professional about this." I bolted up. Oh, right, I'm working.

"I'm sorry. It must be the jetlag or something," I apologized and attempted to smooth down my black hair. Coronamon helped me get out of the car, and I looked up at the 'house' Mr. Norstein took us to. It was most definitely not a house. It was a freaking mansion. The driver of the car unlocked the door and opened it for us. "Thank you," I said when Coronamon and I passed. I started to remove my shoes, but Mr. Norstein told me it was fine. The interior of the house was just as extravagant as the exterior, but there was something missing. It felt lonely in here. Even with Thomas, Gaomon, and Coronamon standing right there, I felt like this place was empty. It was missing that home-y feeling.

Mr. Norstein led us to a large study, and he sat behind the large desk with his Gaomon right next to him. Coronamon and I stood awkwardly while he watched one of the previous matches on the internet. "Mind if we watch?" I asked him feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

"Go ahead. It won't do us any good if you don't know what's going on." I glared at him. He sounded patronizing. I hate when people patronize me. I walked around the desk and stood behind the chair. Let me tell you something, this Harris guy didn't seem like he was using any Digimon to me. I mean, he was fighting just as well as they say he does. If he was using a Digimon to ensure his wins, then he wasn't using it on himself.

Mr. Norstein and I watched more and more clips of Harris Hayase, and the more I watched, the more suspicious I grew. Harris seemed like a good fighter, sure, but his opponents _are_ younger guys who supposedly should be able to hold their own against this guy. "Hey, Mr. Norstein, can I ask you something?" I said while looking at the many bookcases in the study.

"If you really have to," he replied.

"What are you going to do if Mr. Hayase is using a Digimon to cheat?" I ran my hand down the spines of the books. There were so many of them, and I'm certain that they had all been read.

"We're going to do what we always do. Revert the Digimon to a Digi-Egg and send it back to its world," Thomas replied without taking his eyes off the screen.

"I already know that," I informed him haughtily. "I mean, I heard you and Marcus arguing about the case before the Commander and I came in. You seemed pretty adamant that this guy's innocent." He didn't answer and kept typing away.

"Chris, watch what you say," Coronamon whispered.

"I'm sorry," I apologized and picked out one of the books from the shelves, "I shouldn't be saying things like that. Well, I think I should be going. Thank you, Mr. Norstein."

"Wait, Ms. Takahashi," Mr. Norstein finally looked up from the screen, "do you even know how to get home from here?"

I thought about it. Since I fell asleep on the car ride here, I have no idea where the hell we are. I have the address of the apartment and everything, and I don't have a ride with me at the moment. "Huh, I guess not. That would be nice to know," I laughed embarrassedly.

"I would be happy to drive you home, Ms. Takahashi," the butler offerred.

I protested, "No, no it's okay. I'm sure I can find my way back without much trouble at all."

"Chris, don't be stubborn," Coronamon chided.

I sighed, "Actually, that would be very nice. Thank you." Mr. Norstein's butler drove me and Coronamon back to our apartment. I thanked him and unlocked the door to our new home for the time being. It wasn't large by any means, but it was completely furnished. I took off the gold and white jacket I wore over the matching gold uniform underneath and threw it on the couch.

"What do you think?" Coronamon asked and sat on the floor while I sprawled out on the couch lazily.

"I think this guy's a jerk," I replied honestly, "but he seems dedicated to his job. I don't have a problem with him as long as he knows how to do his job right."

"Really?" Coronamon asked and tilted her head to the side questioningly, "I think he was charming."

I laughed jokingly, "Coronamon, you think everyone's charming."

"Not Hunter," she protested, "I don't think _he's_ charming."

I continued to laugh, "That's because he isn't charming. Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. There's food in the fridge." I managed to carry myself to the bathroom, take a shower, and change into a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirt. I set the alarm and collapsed on the bed. Somehow I feel like an alarm won't be enough to wake me up in the morning.

#*#*#*

I continued to go to Mr. Norstein's mansion for the next couple of days to review more clips and tapes. Mr. Norstein rarely spoke to me, and when he did, he was just asking if I had anything to make of the fights. Honestly, they didn't appear to be anything special. On the third day of research, we went back to headquarters, and Yoshi filled us in on some reports and wrote up Mr. Hayase's schedule for us. Mr. Norstein suggested that we arrange to meet with Mr. Hayase during his daily run.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Mr. Norstein informed me after dropping me off at the apartment after work.

"I could use a little exercise," I shrugged, "and I'd like to meet this Mr. Hayase myself."

"Suit yourself, but don't expect me to slow down for you," he warned before the car drove away. What an arrogant boy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, he's obviously from a wealthy family, and I wonder if he's ever had to do a chore in his life.

The next morning, I woke up at five o'clock sharp and waited for Mr. Norstein to pick me up. I kept Coronamon in the Digivice for today so that she wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention. I got into the car feeling very uncomfortable. Gaomon wasn't anywhere to be seen, so it was basically just me and Thomas in the car. "Do you have a plan?" I asked him.

"Of course," he sounded offended that I would even bother asking him. That was the most we said to each other in the car. It wasn't the brightest of mornings. The sky was overcast, and it was chilly. I didn't mind the weather as much as I minded Mr. Norstein's mightier than thou attitude. Yoshi told me the other day that Thomas was the leader of this team. I guess he doesn't have to tell us everything that goes on in his head, but it would be nice to have a general idea of whatever he has planned. "Come on," he said before running onto the track after a man in a black and orange track suit. I ran onto the track as well, but I lagged behind just far enough that I could hear them but not close enough that I could join the conversation.

"Who are you?" Harris asked.

"Thomas H. Norstein," Mr. Norstein replied, "I'm a big fan of yours. Do you mind if I run with you for a while?"

"Okay, but I'm not going to slow down my pace for you," Harris warned.

"In that case, let's make a deal. How about if I'm able to keep up with you for the rest of your run, can we talk to you for a minute?" I watched from behind as Harris started to throw punches, and Thomas did the same.

"Sure kid whatever," Harris laughed. I'm sure he noticed the same thing I did. Thomas' punches looked pro. I never pegged Mr. Norstein for the fighting type, but I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover. They ran the rest of the trail together, and I caught up with Thomas after he made his little deal with Harris. I could see that Thomas didn't expect me to keep up with them, and Harris still didn't know who I am. They would throw punches every once in a while, but I didn't. It's just not my style.

"You're in good shape, kid," Harris told Thomas when we stopped running. Thomas downed a bottle of water like it was nothing. "A deal's a deal. You got five minutes."

"Like I said, I'm a big fan of yours. I always wondered about one of your fights," Mr. Norstein said. "It was about four years ago in your match against Kenzington." I watched Mr. Hayase's face harden when he said that. "It was a brutal match. Kenzington repeatedly headbutted you and threw some low blows. You took a beating that most boxers wouldn't survive. Kenzington never managed to bring you down to his level," Mr. Norstein continued. "You fought a clean fight, and you came away with a victory, but you also came out of the fight with injuries that should have ended your career. People expected you to retire. How were you able to get back in the ring so quickly?"

"I did what I was supposed to do!" Harris exclaimed. I noticed that his body was shaking with anger, "I lost a lot of things in that fight. A lot. The power in my right, a shot at the world championship. It all just disappeared before my eye, but I was fortunate enough to have my family's support. They gave me the strength to rehab, and I made it back despite all the odds. Even now, I don't like talking about it."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, let's change the subject," Mr. Norstein suggested. I watched their exchange, and I can see why Norstein refused to believe that this man was guilty. I could physically see how Mr. Norstein reacted to being next to Harris. "In your comeback match, was there anything you thought was strange?"

"Huh?"

"Anything," Mr. Norstein prompted.

"No, nothing particular," Harris stated.

"Okay. Well, then, good luck in your title match. I hope you win," Mr. Norstein got up and started to walk away.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Hayase," I thanked him and followed after Thomas. He walked back to the car with his head down, lost in thought. I wonder if this case means more to him than he's letting on. "Hey, Norstein," I called out and walked next to him, "did you get anything out of that conversation?" He didn't answer me. He just kept his head down and continued walking. "He seemed a little bit suspicious when you brought up that fight with Kenzington. It doesn't seem like anything to worry about, though. I wouldn't want to talk about it either if I was him." Still, nothing. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "Thomas, for what it's worth, I believe that he's innocent." Norstein looked at me for a minute like he didn't even know who I was.

"And why do you say that?" he asked in a low voice.

"Because no man who would take a beating like the one you described would ever take the easy way out," I answered. I felt a raindrop hit my face and looked up at the sky. The rain was starting to come down fast. "We better get going. It isn't good to be out in the rain," I advised. We got back to the car, and Mr. Norstein's butler handed both of us towels to dry off with. Thomas hung it around his shoulders and didn't even bother to get the rain off him. "You really should dry off. You might get sick," I said to him. Normally, I wouldn't try to talk to him more than necessary, but today was different. He wasn't just silent, he was sullen. He didn't respond to me in the slightest. "At least let me help you a little bit. Honestly, Norstein, what good are you to me sick?" I sighed and leaned forward with my own towel, wiping his face and drying his hair when he didn't protest. "I can see why you admire him so much. The way you talk about him... It's plain to see that you look up to him," that finally got him to look at me. His head shot up, his hand wrapped around my wrist, and his eyes locked on mine. I jumped back, realizing how attractive this boy is and that I had just been violating his personal space. I mean, it's not like I want him to get pneumonia or anything.

"He's a good man, Takahashi," Thomas said earnestly. I felt bad for him. This is his hero we're talking about. Nobody wants to believe that the person they look up to is illegally using Digimon to further their own careers. I could see how much inner turmoil this case was putting my partner in.

"I believe you," I told him gently, "but I hope that you're admiration for Hayase doesn't cloud your judgment. I don't want to believe that he's guilty, so I guess everyone's innocent until proven guilty, right?" I smiled at him and leaned back in my seat.

We arrived back at headquarters by the time the rain stopped and changed into our uniforms in the locker rooms. Later, we went to the control room to meet with Commander Sampson, Marcus, and Yoshino to discuss what they were able to gather from the investigation. We gave our reports, and Sampson listened. "So among these three that we narrowed it down to, who do you think is the most suspicious?" Sampson asked us.

"The trainer is up to something, and I'm gonna nail him," Marcus stated.

"Mhmm," Agumon nodded in agreement. "We'll find out what he's hiding alright!"

"I don't think it's his wife," Yoshi said, "she's way too sweet, and it's obvious she loves her husband very much."

"I agree," Lalamon chipped in.

"That's just as good a motive as well," I pointed out. "I think it's his wife. I just don't believe that Harris is capable of going back on his beliefs like this."

"From what I heard, Harris has strong integrity. It could be any one of them," Coronamon added.

"Thomas?" Commander Sampson asked, "Who do _you_ think it is?"

"Truthfully, I still don't know yet," Thomas admitted. Fair enough. I guess you can't make any decisions this early into the investigation.

"It's obvious!" Marcus glared at Thomas.

"This isn't about you being right, Marcus, it's about coming to the right conclusion, and I haven't made up my mind yet," Thomas snapped. "Commander, please allow me to further question Mr. Harris in order to clear some things up. Excuse me." He ran out of the room with Gaomon following after him.

"Poor Thomas," I said softly to myself.

"I'll question him to a right cross to the chin!" Marcus punched the air in front of him.

"Lay off, Marcus," I sighed.

Marcus rounded on me next, "So you're taking his side now, are ya?"

I just shrugged, "This isn't about taking sides or who's right or wrong. This is about figuring out who's guilty and setting them straight. I don't think that beating anyone up is the way to solve any of this."

"They're right, Marcus," Yoshi agreed. "Why don't you cool down for a second?"

"I'm going to try to talk to Thomas," I told them, "I'll see you guys later." I walked out of the building and found that Thomas had already left. I walked back to my apartment and set my Digivice on my dresser while I changed into black skinny jeans, a yellow long sleeve, and black hoodie vest. On my way out, I put on a pair of gold colored sneakers and clipped my Digivice to my belt loop. I figure that Thomas was just going to continue investigating on his own, and I anticipated where he would go first.

"Hey," I greeted him when I saw him leaning on a guard rail in front of the boxing gym Hayase goes to. "I thought you'd be down here." I sat on the guard rail next to him.

"What are you doing here, Takahashi?" Thomas asked.

"Well, it's my assignment too, right?" I countered. "You can't go around ditching your partner, Norstein, it doesn't work like that. I really believe that it could be anyone at this point, Thomas, but I also believe that Mr. Hayase is innocent."

"Did you come all this way just to tell me that?" he scowled.

"No, I came all this way to stake out Harris Hayase," I replied simply. So we followed Harris around for days. I saw him with children, with his family, with his trainer. I can't say that Hayase seemed any different from any other average parent I've ever seen before. There was nothing about him out of the ordinary. The championships were just around the corner, and Thomas was still hard at work in his study. I walked in and placed two cups of tea on the desk. Over these past couple of days, I've figured out my way around Norstein's home and figured out the easiest way to get here from my apartment. "It's getting late. You shouldn't overwork yourself so much." Thomas ignored me and continued to stare at the screen. I sighed, "Thomas, hello? I'm gonna go home now."

Suddenly, realization crossed his face, "I got it!"

"What? Got what?" I asked curiously.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Thomas and I went back to Mr. Hayase's running trail. The man ran up and stopped in front of us, "Hey there, uh, Thomas. Sorry, I'm not sure I caught _your_ name."

"Chris Takahashi," I introduced myself.

"Mr. Harris, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Thomas started, "would you let me go a few rounds with you in the ring." I gaped at him with just about as much shock as Mr. Hayase had on his face.

"Sure, kid," Mr. Hayase accepted the challenge, and the three of us walked back to the boxing gym together.

I pulled Thomas away from the people in the gym before he got into the ring, "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what you're doing? This is suicide." He's lost it. Absolutely lost it.

"I know what I'm doing," Thomas stated. That didn't make me feel any better. I wanted to tell him not to do it. I don't care about this investigation. If he gets hurt, then it's going to be my problem. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he promised.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take it easy on you?" Harris asked.

"I'm sure," Thomas stated.

"Hit the bell," Harris ordered. I watched how they circled each other in the ring. Thomas actually held out longer than I expected him to. He was able to dodge and block every punch Harris threw. Maybe there really is more to this guy than I thought. Then the bell rang, and the two fighters retreated to their corners.

"Thomas? What's he doing in here?" I heard Marcus walk in while Thomas took off the blue helmet on his head. I waved at him before turning back to the ring.

"What's up? Don't take that off, we still have two more rounds," Harris told Thomas.

"Actually, I got what I needed in the first round," Thomas informed him, "Thanks for sparring with me it was an honor to meet you." Then Thomas walked out without another word.

"So you think I can take him?" Marcus asked the boy as he left the building. "Come on it's a simple question!"

"Can you guys settle anything without your fists?" I sighed when I passed him. I tried to follow Thomas, but it was difficult with the crowds and turns. I kept sight of him, and I stayed on his trail. I followed him all the way to the roof of a building. I opened the door to the roof and saw him standing with Gaomon in front of the chain fence.

"Sir, permission to ask a question," Gaomon spoke for the first time since I've known them.

"What is it, Gaomon?" Thomas sounded tired. Maybe from the fight, or maybe from the suspicion, I'm not really sure.

"Sir? Why'd you quit your boxing match with Mr. Harris after only one round?" Gaomon asked. I admit, I'm wondering the same thing. I want to know what caused Thomas to cut the match short and take off the way he did.

"You don't need to concern yourself," Thomas replied shortly.

"But, sir, in all the time I've known you, I've never seen you give up," Gaomon insisted.

"When I was a child, Harris was a brilliant fighter," Thomas said. "I wanted to be like him when I grew up. Strong, powerful, a winner. He was inspiring. I looked up to him in many ways. My childhood hero,"

"But, then, his last few fights have been suspicious, and, yet, you still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But after sparring with him, you learned something, and now you know who the culprit is, don't you sir?" Gaomon pressed.

I stepped out from behind the door to the stairs and walked up to them, "So, that's how it is, huh?"

"You were eavesdropping," Thomas stated.

I shrugged, "I was worried, but I guess you have it all figured out, right? It would be nice if you'd let me in on whatever it is you found out." Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but I continued before he could tell me off or whatever, "But I won't make you. It _is_ your case after all. I'm just here to watch."

"So why are you here then?" Thomas asked with the same exasperation he spoke to Gaomon with.

I shrugged and put my foot on the chain fence pushing myself up while I held on with my hands, "I wanted to talk to you. That's all. You know, these past couple of days, we've worked together nonstop, but we've barely had a real conversation."

"Sorry, but we've been a bit busy," Thomas pointed out. "Hey, don't do that!" I was climbing up to the bar at the top of the fence.

"Don't worry," I sat on the top of it and smiled down at him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you what I think." He didn't tell me no, so I continued to talk, "I think you grew up to be exactly who you wanted to be. You're strong, powerful, a winner, a genius, one of the most influential teenagers in the world. I've been watching you all week, Thomas, and I'm impressed. Not many guys have the natural leading skills you do, nor can they keep up with a champion boxer. He may be your childhood hero, but I don't think you're a child anymore. Actually," I laughed embarrassedly, "I think you're rather inspiring."

"You make it sound as if you've known me much longer than you let on," Thomas said coolly. I slowly brought my foot onto the bar and put my hands on the bar to balance myself while I put the other foot on the bar. "Takahashi get down from there. It's dangerous."

I shrugged and stood completely straight with my hands at my sides, "It's beautiful out there, isn't it? The sky. I love the way the pink and orange just melt together."

"Takashi," Thomas said frustratedly, "what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

I smiled at him, "Nothing, I guess. It was just a thought, but I mean what I said. You're an inspiring person. I've been here for a few days, and I already look up to you a bit."

"Huh?" Thomas said in surprise.

"Oh, that's weird, isn't it?" I laughed again, "I guess it would be weird considering that you don't really know anything about me. Anyway, I don't think it matters whether or not Harris really is using a Digimon to win his fights because the person he is now, isn't the person you looked up to when you were a kid." I climbed down from the fence while the sun set and night took over. Thomas just watched me with this stunned expression on his face. "Well, come on, we have a job to do don't we?" I asked and walked back to the stairs.

"Takahashi!" Thomas called.

"Yeah?" I looked back at him.

Then I saw him smile. It was the first real smile I ever saw him smile since I met him, "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Not at all," I laughed lightly and smiled back at him, "but I guess I'll find out when I get there."

We followed him while he was out for a night run. He stood out in his bright yellow and orange track suit so we didn't have much of a problem. We stood in a blindspot, hidden by the vending machine and shadows. It happened quickly, just like how Thomas predicted it would occur. The sharp thorns flew at the champion, and he didn't even notice. Gaomon and Coronamon jumped out and deflected the needles before it was too late.

"Aha, we caught you in the act, Togamon," Thomas announced. The Digimon we were after resembles a walking cactus with red boxing gloves. "You were trying to weaken the champ. Trying to fix the fight so Harris would wind up the winner. You knew Harris couldn't beat the champ without your help, but you didn't count on _me_ figuring out your secret." I crouched down by the champion to make sure that he wasn't injured. No, not injured, just scared. Well, there's not much I can do about that right now. I'll deal with him after this ordeal's through."Harris is a very honorable man," Thomas continued, "but he's not the fighter he once was. After I sparred with him, it became obvious that age and injury had taken its toll. I knew he was getting help from a Digimon, but I wasn't sure if he was aware of it. Then I found out he wasn't aware that he was being helped. He was still giving everything he had in the ring, fighting his heart out. A man with that much pride wouldn't accept help from anyone. He'd rather lose than cheat. So then I started to wonder, who'd want him to win more than anyone else? Someone who loved him with all their heart. Yes, his daughter, Minnie!"

Wow, it was fun watching this all unfold. The intensity in Thomas's voice was something I've never heard before. I stood up and walked to stand next to Thomas. Minnie? That cute little girl who sat on her father's shoulders after his matches? Thomas really must have thought hard about it. "Confess, Minnie, you used Togamon to help your father," Thomas demanded.

"Go away and leave me alone!" Minnie shouted. "And leave my daddy alone too! You're a bully."

"Shields up, Gaomon," Thomas ordered.

"Needle spray!" Togamon exclaimed and needles flew from its body. I ran around during the attack and made my way to Minnie. I crouched down next to the little girl and tried the gentler approach.

"Minnie, nobody here wants to hurt your father. I just want to talk to you," I soothed.

"Leave me alone!" Minnie screamed. Togamon turned from the smoke and swung at me with its bulky fist. I leapt back, but before I could do anything, Togamon and Minnie were gone. The smoke cleared up, and I was looking straight at Thomas.

"You need to work on your people skills," I sighed and walked past him to the trembling boxer. I took the memory eraser out from my pocket. "Go after them. I'll catch up with you."

"No, I have an idea," Thomas crouched down next to me. This time, he actually told me about his plan. When he finished, Thomas was wearing the champ's clothes. "What do you think?"

"Gold isn't your color," I smirked. I stood up and looked down at the unconcsious boxer who was now laying there in his T-shirt and boxers. "Okay, I'll call the others. You better get going."

"Right," Thomas nodded and started to run down the street.

"Thomas!" I called. He turned back, and I waved at him, "Good luck."

He nodded at me, "You too." Then he ran off. I took out the ear piece we used for communicating and called Yoshi and Marcus, "Hey, guys, it's Chris..."

Thomas had it all figured out, and it happened just the way he thought it would. When Togamon walked into the dome, I turned on the lights. Gaomon was waiting in the ring, and while Togamon sputtered to figure out what was going on, Thomas already had this thing in the bag.

Thomas pulled the hood of the sweatshirt down, revealing our little deception, "Togamon! Get in this ring!" Thomas's order sounded impatient. He wanted to finish with this already.

I saw Marcus and Yoshi walk in. "Aren't you coming, Marcus?" Yoshi asked. She was already heading for the ring, I got up to stop her, but Marcus beat me to it.

"No," Marcus sounded serious, "this is Thomas and Gaomon's fight."

"What're you saying?" Yoshi asked incredulously.

"Harris was Thomas' hero growing up, and this battle is personal to him. He needs to fight it his way," Marcus stated. I relaxed and smiled. I guess this whole team has more to them than meets the eye.

"Hey!" I called to them and waved, "I saved your seats." They walked into the row with me and we watched Thomas's plan unfold. Gaomon attacked first with a barrage of punches. Togamon countered until Gomon jumped back and then charged and punched at Gaomon, but Gaomon dodged until he was backed into a corner.

"Throw the combination, Gaomon!" Thomas commanded.

"Sir, yes, sir," Gaomon replied. "Combo! Thomas loved boxing as a kid." Gaomon punched Togamon so fast that my eyes could barely keep up. "You're polluting his memory. Take this, right cross!" Gaomon disappeared and reappeared on Togamon's other side. The punch sent Togamon flying out of the ring.

"Nice punch, Gaomon!" Marcus cheered.

"Marcus, I hope you realize we're still working," I laughed lightly. My laughter ceased when I saw Togamon get up from the pile of chairs and glow yellow. It laughed darkly and grew to the point that it was almost touching the ceiling. Thomas took out his Digivice, and I saw his blue DNA emnating from his hand. Gaomon transformed into Gaogamon, a huge wolf-creature on four legs with long black claws protruding through the boot-like gloves on its front paws. Red headband on Gaomon's head now served as a long scarf around Gaogamon's neck.

"Needle spray!" the giant Togamon called out and sent more needles flying at Gaogamon.

"Spiral blow!" The two tails of the scarf reached out to Togamon and a vortex of wind left Gaogamon's mouth, caught the needles, and trapped Togamon in a little twister. Togamon dissipated into data and reverted into a striped yellow and green Digi-Egg.

"You did it!" Yoshi exclaimed as we raced down the stairs.

"Yeah!" Marcus cheered.

Thomas picked up Minnie, "One fight down, one fight to go." Yoshi and Marcus took the Digi-Egg back to DATS while Thomas and I walked Minnie back to the gym.

"You want me to carry her?" I asked Thomas while he carried the little girl bridal style as we walked.

"No, it's okay," Thomas said. I pushed her hair out of her face while she laid unconscious in his arms.

"You did a good job," I congratulated him. "You had everything planned out. It all worked out the way you planned."

"Well, not exactly," Thomas protested, "I didn't plan on Togamon growing in size or having to plan that whole fight in the arena."

"Still," I said, "what you did back there was pretty cool."

"I probably could have handled the situation with Minnie better, though," Thomas admitted, looking down at the girl.

I nodded, "You could have been a little bit gentler with her. She just wanted to help her dad. It's kind of admirable in a way. Who would've thought that this little girl would go so far to protect her father?" I know that I certainly wouldn't involve myself with a strange creature for my father, but then again, maybe Togamon wasn't that strange to Minnie.

"I think you could have handled that better," Thomas said.

I shook my head, "Marcus said something while you and Gaomon were in the ring. He said that this was your fight, and you had to fight it your way. He was absolutely right about that. I couldn't have done anything more even if I was able to."

"There's something about you that I've been thinking about," Thomas said. "Earlier, you were standing on that fence like it was nothing. We were three stories up, and that fence must've been at least six feet tall. Then, when we first encountered Togamon and Minnie, you were standing next to me. The next thing I knew, you were standing where they had disappeared. How did you do that?"

I stopped walking and watched his back wide-eyed. _That's amazing_, I thought, _his mind was preoccupied that whole time, but he was still able to think about that._ I caught up to him and smiled, looking straight at the gym, "I'd tell you, but then there wouldn't be any mystery, would there?" Harris looked at us with concern when we walked in with his sleeping daughter in Thomas' arms. "Mr. Hayase, can we speak to you for a moment?" I asked. Harris nodded and opened the door to a room. Thomas laid her down on the couch, and I covered her with a blanket. Then, we told Mr. Hayase the story from the very beginning.

"So it was Minnie from the very start," Harris sighed heavily. "I guess it was partly my fault too. I should've been watching her more closely."

"It wasn't your fault, Mr. Hayase," I told him. "Minnie just wanted to protect you."

"Mr. Harris," Thomas said, "I think you still have a good shot at the title match if you want."

"My fighting career is over," Harris announced seriously.

"What are you saying? You're still a great fighter!" Thomas exclaimed.

"I know that," Harris said irritably, "but not great enough. I didn't earn this title bout on my own. Besides, I've got more important things to worry about now. My daughter. She was willing to do anything for me to make sure I came back to her every night safe and sound." I smiled sadly. Good. Now Harris would be able to spend his time with his daughter, and she wouldn't have to worry about him.

"But, sir, it wasn't you who was being dishonest with the public, it was Togamon," Thomas argued.

"I'm done. I simply can't do that to the sport I love," Harris said. "I'm going to forfeit. Besides, I might get hurt, and that's just what my daughter's so afraid of. I'm quitting for her."

"I think Minnie will like that very much, Mr. Hayase," I told him gladly. "Thomas, we need to finish here." Thomas took out the memory eraser, and then we left.

On the night of the title match, Thomas and I stood in the dark hall leading to the ring. I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, looking up at Thomas who was just about to watch his hero forfeit the most important match of his career. "Thomas," I said softly, "he's doing the right thing." Mr. Hayase and his trainer walked past us with a couple of other guys without saying a word. Nobody remembered the Togamon incident, but Harris was still retiring tonight. Thomas pushed off the wall and walked away. I got up and followed him. "So, do you want to hang out sometime or something?" I asked.


	4. Chapter 4

I started spending more time with Thomas after that mission. We hung out at his house, coffee shops, my apartment, the park, after work. It turns out that Thomas actually isn't as cold as he first came off as. He's pretty cool once you get to know him.

I sat outside in Thomas' garden with one of the many books in the library. It was a sunny day out with a soft breeze, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend the day outside. The last thing I want to do is be cooped up inside all by myself, and Coronamon likes being outdoors in the sun like this. Thomas asked me if I wanted to come over today, so I figured that I might as well take advantage of the invitation. Thomas' gardens have some of the most beautiful and colorful flowers I've ever seen.

"Chrisanne," Thomas said. A shadow was cast over the book, so I looked up. I should have noticed him coming up. I guess I just got lost in thought. "Marcus and his sister are going to come over today. I was wondering if you'd join us."

"Sure. I'd love to meet Marcus' sister," I thought it would be a good idea. I've been here for a little over two weeks now, and I still haven't met Marcus' family. It would be nice to meet his little sister.

"That's great," Thomas seemed to be a little bit relieved that I accepted the invitation.

I laughed lightly at his reaction, "If you didn't want to spend the day with Marcus, you could've just told me. Actually, why did you make plans with Marcus if the two of you can barely stand each other at work?"

"It's for Kristy," Thomas explained. "One time, Marcus missed out on her birthday, so he had me watch over her for the day. She's much more tolerable than her brother is. I made these plans to spend the day with her, and Marcus just decided to tag along."

I sighed and shook my head, "Marcus isn't as bad as you make him out to be. Well, I'm sure today's going to be fun."

"They should be here soon. Let's go inside," Thomas suggested. I called Coronamon over and told her the new plans for today, and she gladly accepted the invitation. When we got inside, I crossed my ankles and continued to read on the couch while Thomas put in a CD on the stereo.

"That's an impressive sound system you have there," I remarked.

"I wasn't aware you were so well informed about electronics," Thomas stated.

I laughed, "Well, I wouldn't say that." The door opened, and Marcus stood there looking as enthusiastic about being in Thomas' presence as usual.

"Welcome," Thomas greeted cheerfully, "I'm glad you guys could make it."

"Yeah, it's a joy, really," Marcus deadpanned. I laughed lightly and observed the girl standing between Agumon and Marcus. She didn't even reach up to Marcus' shoulder. Her hair was the same color as her brother's, but she wore it in two pigtails with yellow hair ties. Unlike Marcus, his sister had fair skin and green eyes. She wore a cute aqua dress with a white collar and white boots. In her hands, she held a pink purse. She really was adorable.

"It's nice of you to invite us over," she said, gratefully bowing. "Thanks so much, Thomas."

Marcus looked around, "This place is pretty nice, I guess. If you like that sort of thing, I mean. Hi, Chris." He was trying so hard to appear unimpressed with the décor and general appearance of the house.

"Hi, Marcus," I waved and put the book on the coffee table. Marcus knocked on a large vase at the entrance of the room.

"How much does something like this cost?" he asked.

"Marcus, stop being so rude," his sister chided.

I got up and walked over to them, "Hi, I'm Chris Takahashi. You must be Marcus' sister, right? It's nice to meet you."

She gave me a once over and said politely, "Yes, that's me. Kristy Damon. Likewise."

"Chrisanne works with us at DATS," Thomas explained. "I hope you guys don't mind that I invited her to spend the day with us."

"Oh, not at all," Kristy said, looking at me again.

"Good thing he invited you too, I didn't know if I could handle them both on my own," Marcus stated. Thomas' butler informed us that lunch was ready, so Thomas lead us to the dining room. Each of us sat down at the table, and people came and served platter after platter after platter of food. I gaped at the large spread in front of us, and the others seemed just as amazed as I did.

"I had such a good time with you guys the other day, so I thought I'd put this little meal together as a token of my thanks," Thomas said while presenting lunch to us.

"Whoa," Marcus exclaimed, this is what you call little?"

"Be quiet, Marcus," Kristy pleaded.

"There aren't any fried eggs, though," Agumon pointed out.

"Chef can make them if you want them," Thomas informed him.

"Is that all you guys know what to do?" Kristy asked, "Embarrass me?"

"They're no probelm at all, are they, Thomas?" I asked our host.

Thomas smiled at us and assured her, "Not at all." Marcus and Agumon started to eat just about everything at the table. I barely managed to grab a few sandwiches and pastries before my hand was almost scarfed down along with the meal.

"Mmmm," Kristy silently protested.

"What's wrong, Kristy?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"Uh, nothing," Kristy brightened up.

"Go on, dig in then. You can have whatever you want," Thomas informed her. I've never seen Thomas be this nice to anyone before. He must really care about this little girl to be doing all this for her. I can see why. She was such a polite sweetheart. How on earth are she and Marcus related? It seemed like they weren't very compatible, but I could also see that Marcus and Kristy had that sibling feel to them...if you get what I'm saying. The kind of love-hate relationship that only siblings can have.

"Oh, thanks," Kristy smiled widely. Across the table, Agumon started choking.

"You're not supposed to eat the plate, you know," Marcus teased. Although, I'm pretty sure Agumon might have actually eaten the plate.

"Are you okay, Agumon?" I asked. Agumon grabbed the closest dish to him and drank it down. Kristy reached for the same bowl in front of her and started to bring it up to her lips.

"Kristy..." I started to stop her.

"You're not supposed to drink that," Gaomon informed her before she could drink it, "it's for washing your hands." She gasped and dropped the tin bowl on the floor. The poor girl's face turned bright red and tears filled her eyes.

"Are you okay, Kristy?" Thomas immediately got out of his chair at the head of the table.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. Marcus just continued to gulf down another one of the sandwiches. Then he picked up the same bowl that Kristy just dropped and took a long sip out of it.

"Oh, man, the water here is absolutely delicious," he exclaimed happily and extended it to his sister. "Here, try some, Kristy." I relaxed when Marcus attempted to make his sister feel better because it was a very sweet and amusing gesture, but Kristy didn't seem to think so.

"Just stop it!" Kristy shouted.

"Huh?" Marcus asked confusedly.

"Stop embarrassing me!" Kristy jumped to her feet. The poor girl's hands were shaking, too. "You ruined everything! I wish that you would get embarrassed!" I could've sworn that the lights just flashed off a couple times during Kristy's tirade, but nobody else seemed to notice. It must've been my imagination. "I wish you'd slip and fall down, or fall over a big sign in public, or something really weird like get hit with a bunch of sticks, or get chased by a car, and maybe get smushed by a big oil tanker!" Kristy took off crying.

"Kristy!" Marcus called after his sister in shock.

"Kristy, come back!" Thomas added.

"I'll go and get her," I started to get up, but Thomas shook his head.

"Wait!" Marcus called out and ran after her. Agumon, in turn, followed after Marcus. Thomas, Gaomon, Coronamon, and I sat at the table after that little fiasco. Thomas sighed, rested his elbow on the table and held the bridge of his nose.

"It wasn't that bad," I tried to cheer him up. "You know how Marcus can be, and Kristy must've been a little bit intimidated by everything here."

"Nevertheless," Thomas said, "I should have tried to adjust to what they would be comfortable with."

"We should just go and make sure that Kristy's okay," I advised him. "She seemed really angry, and I'd hate for her to get lost."

"You're right," Thomas sighed and got up. The four of us walked out to the front gates. "Marcus?" Thomas called out when we got to the sidewalk. I saw Marcus sitting on the cement holding a banana peel.

"Are you talking about Gaomon, Agumon?" Marcus asked confusedly.

"No boss," Agumon said.

"Oh, then Coronamon?"

"No, I just saw another Digimon floating next to you," Agumon exclaimed fervently.

"What? I didn't see anything," Marcus said.

"Ah! It's right behind you," Agumon said.

"What is going on here?" I whispered to Thomas. Then all of a sudden, Agumon punched Marcus. I gasped, "Should we stop them?"

Thomas watched with his arms crossed over his chest, "Why bother?"

"Gaomon, you can see the Digimon too, can't you?" Agumon asked, cradling the bumps on his head from the beating Marcus just gave him, "The one that's floating around boss' head?"

Gaomon looked at Marcus' head, "I don't see anyhing."

"Coronamon?" Agumon turned to my Digimon partner who looked at Marcus too.

She shook her head, "It's not nice to play tricks on people, Agumon."

"Aww," Agumon exclaimed, "I know I saw it!"

"Sure you did," Marcus scoffed.

"Hey, maybe there was a Digimon there, and it's just gone now," I suggested, feeling bad for Agumon.

"Uh, Marcus, is it okay for Kristy to be on her own?" Thomas asked, bringing all of us back to the matter at hand. Marcus looked as if he just remembered too.

"Kristy!" Marcus exclaimed. God, he's an idiot.

"I'm afraid you do have a habit of ignoring other people," Thomas pointed out while we searched for Marcus' sister.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I wasn't listening," Marcus told him.

"Exactly," Thomas proved his point. "Kristy was clearly nervous at the table, but instead of making sure she was having a nice time, you just teased her and made her feel more self-conscious."

"So that's why she said all that weird stuff, like, uhm, what was it she said exactly?" Marcus wondered.

"Marcus, please try to pay at least _some_ attention to your life," Thomas said with thinly veiled irritation. "She wanted you to run into a sign, like that one." Thomas pointed out a bright orange sign on the sidewalk.

"A sign?" Marcus exclaimed disbelievingly as we passed it.

"Cut him some slack, Thomas," I sighed, "he was just trying to cheer her up. If anything, you made her feel just as self-conscious as Marcus did."

"Boss!" Agumon called from Marcus' Digivice, "Boss! Look quick! That Digimon's right there next to you."

"Come on, Agumon," Damon started to reprimand, but he fell over a sign before he could say anything else. "How'd I trip over that sign _after _I passed it?" Marcus wondered.

"They probably have a few set up on the block," I suggested.

"Listen! A Digimon's pulling pranks on you," Agumon insisted.

"Could it be true?" Thomas asked nobody in particular.

I thought back to that case at Washington Prep. Impmon caused a lot of trouble for the students and faculty before we caught it. Nothing dangerous or life threatening, just some electrical difficulties and a few pranks. "It's definitely a possibility," I replied.

"If anyone's pulling pranks," Marcus said unamusedly, "it's probably Agumon."

"No, not that," Thomas corrected him.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, Thomas?" I asked too.

"It's that sign," he said. "Kristy wanted you to fall over one and, sure enough, you did. So, maybe, she really did put a curse on you somehow."

"She did what?" Marcus' eyes widened in surprise.

"Her wishes are all coming true," Thomas observed. "By my house, you slipped, and then, here, you ran into a sign just like she hoped."

"Come on, there's no way," Marcus scoffed.

"That's a little bit far fetched," I agreed with Marcus. Who would've thought that someone like Thomas believed in the supernatural? Well, I guess it's possible. I mean, we do work for an agency that sends data monsters from our world back to theirs. So, I guess I can't really rule anything out... However, I just don't believe in the supernatural.

"And then she wanted Marcus attack with a bunch of sticks," Gaomon added from Thomas' Digivice, "didn't she?"

"That's right!" Thomas confirmed.

"She also wanted a car to chase him down," Coronamon supplied.

I sighed, "Don't encourage them, Coronamon."

Marcus scoffed, "There's really no chance of that one happening. We're in the middle of the city. There aren't even any sticks around." Marcus confidently strolled on ahead while Thomas and I stood on the sidewalk. Suddenly, Marcus fell flat on his back in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Those chopsticks flew right out of my hand!" a man from the restaurant we passed exclaimed apologetically. Okay, I know I probably should've been thinking about how it's such a strange coincidence, but all that I could think about is how I would _not_ want to be using those chopsticks anytime soon.

"Chopsticks?!" Marcus exclaimed furiously.

"He was hit...with sticks," Thomas said disbelievingly.

"Technically, he tripped on them," I pointed out. "It's not the same thing. I'm starting to think that Agumon's theory of a Digimon following Marcus is more realistic that a curse."

"Huh?" Thomas turned to me while Marcus told off the man, "You don't think it's possible?"

"I never said that," I reminded him. "I'm just saying that it's unlikely that _Kristy_ put a _curse_ on Marcus."

"Why is that?" Thomas asked.

"It isn't logical," I replied simply. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation that doesn't involve the paranormal."

"Are you saying that you don't believe in the possibility?" Thomas inquired.

"I'm not saying that it _isn't_ possible, just that it's highly unlikely. If anything else, this is Marcus' bad karma coming back at him," I said.

"Bad karma?" Marcus exclaimed irritably, "What're you talking about bad karma?!"

"I'm not falling for that curse junk," Marcus said when we got back to the DATS building. Thomas and I spent the whole way to DATS discussing this whole curse nonsense.

"But you already have," Thomas made fun, "literally."

"Very funny, Nerdstein," Marcus grumbled.

"Be reasonable," I sighed, "this isn't paranormal activity of any sort. It's all just coincidence."

"Oh, so you admit that you don't believe in the supernatural?" Thomas countered.

"I'm not saying that I don't believe in the supernatural!" I repeated for the nth time today. "I'm just trying to say that _this_ isn't mysticism of any sort!" When we crossed into the control room, the alarms went off, putting us all into high alert.

"What is it?" Thomas demanded, running into the room.

"What's going on?" Marcus also ran into the room like that would solve anything.

I sighed and crossed the floor calmly, "What now?"

"More Digimon activity," the young woman at the computer reported. Her name's Miki Kurosaki, and she works with Megumi Shirakawa in the control room the same way Hunter and Val work as our computer operators.

"Where?" Thomas inquired.

"Strangely enough," Megumi, the blond operator, answered, " it's coming from inside DATS."

"What?" Thomas' shock registered clearly in his expression. It is a bit hard to believe. Digimon just don't sneak into DATS unnoticed. Not in any branch on Earth.

"But...how?" I wondered aloud.

"That's right," Megumi confirmed. "Something is in here!" Everyone gasped in surprise.

"It's you, boss!" Agumon announced to Marcus, "It's that Digimon I saw riding on you before."

"What?" Marcus asked confusedly.

"Hold on," Yoshi ordered. "What are you talking about?"

"Agumon's under the impression that a Digimon's been following Marcus since lunch," I explained. "It makes sense, I guess. Much more sense than a curse." I muttered the last part. I knew that it had to be something more than a 'curse' placed by an angry little kid.

"That does it, Marcus," Thomas said. "We'll have to quarantine you." The red lights stopped flashing, and the two Pawnchessmon stood guard in front of Marcus.

"Come on! You really think I can cause this much trouble?" Marcus demanded.

"Absolutely, yes," Thomas said certainly.

"Yep. Well, you always do," Yoshi agreed wholeheartedly.

"Hey, stop pickin' on boss. It isn't his fault," Agumon pleaded. "The poor guy's just got a bad Digimon stuck to him."

"It's stuck to him?" Yoshi asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah. It's the one behind all this, not boss. I mean, yeah, sure, even normally boss is the kind of guy that might have strangers throwing sticks at him, but this time it wasn't his fault," Agumon defended his partner.

I shrugged, "I believe him. Marcus may be a bit of a dunce, but would he really cause us this much trouble?"

"You have a point there," Yoshi agreed.

"Hey!" Marcus protested.

"So let me get this straight," Thomas said. "You're saying that all the accidents he was having that I thought were because he's a clumsy oaf were actually being caused by this Digimon?"

"Hey! Don't you call me an oaf!" Marcus warned.

"I'm afraid you've got bigger concerns than that," Thomas snapped. "What we all need to worry about now is how that Digimon was able to get past our security, and how Kristy was somehow able to summon a Digimon. Although, in a way, this is your fault because of how you treated Kristy in the first place." Marcus looked like he was ready to explode. Thomas really wasn't being very fair. He said so himself that he could have prevented this by making sure that Kristy was in her comfort zone, but now he's just pinning it all on Marcus. I guess neither one of them really wants to accept the blame for the events earlier today.

"Let's analyze this," Sampson suggested in that authoritative tone of his.

"Not you too!" Marcus exclaimed.

"Could it actually be possible that Kristy is controlling this mysterious rogue Digimon?" Sampson asked.

"Well," Agumon started, "she wanted Marcus to slip and fall, trip over a sign, hit himself with a stick, and he did!"

"Now we just have to wait for him to get chased by a car and smushed by an oil tanker," Gaomon completed. That's what we were forgetting! Kristy made some pretty bad wishes, ending with the desire to see Marcus smushed by an oil tanker.

"Alright! That's enough guys!" Marcus angrily snapped. "Kristy and I have had our differences over the years, but she's still my sister! There's no way she'd sic a Digimon on me even if she could which she can't!" He shook off the Pawnchessmon, "That's it! Quit hiding you sneaky Digimon! Come out! Fight like a man!" Marcus began to wildly punch the air, "Or fight like a Digimon. I'll still beat you!" He tripped on his own two feet and fell. I looked down at him. He was panting heavily on the floor. "That's it!" He sat up, "I gotta go find Kristy! Then you'll see she has nothing whatsoever to do with any of this."

I admit, it was nice to see the way he was defending his sister even though everything she said was beginning to come true. "So, you didn't really believe that this whole thing was caused by a curse?" I asked Thomas as Marcus dashed out of the control room.

"Not at all," Thomas said. "I knew there had to be a logical explanation. Of course, I just assumed that it was Marcus' clumsiness..."

"Wait a second," Gaomon said, "did you say he'd get hit by a cart?" Gaomon emphasized the _t_ in cart. Well, it's no car, but it's close enough.

"All that's left is him getting squished by an oil tanker," Agumon replied.

"Please," Yoshi said in exasperation, "no way! I mean, we're not even on the water."

"That's true," Lalamon agreed, "an oil tanker is a ship after all."

I thought on it for a second, "Well, that's true, but these 'curses', for lack of a better word, haven't occurred exactly as we thought they would. For example, Kristy said that Marcus would get hit with a bunch of sticks. Marcus actually _tripped_ on chopsticks on the sidewalk." Then the alarm began to go off again. "Or maybe a flying oil tanker's gonna come and strike him down," I shrugged. Hey, can't call them right all the time.

"Oh, just great," Marcus said. "Now what?"

"We've just gotten a report from the coast guard that ten miles off the coast, the crew of an oil tanker has lost control of their ship," Miki reported.

"It's moving at top speed, too," Megumi added. "In just over ten minutes, that tanker's going to slam into the coast line unless stopped!" They pulled up a screen of the direction the tanker was going to take. This isn't good. By the looks of it, a lot of people are going to be in the way of this thing's collision.

"Well, then, our mission is clear," Sampson said. "We have to get that crew to safety."

"The coast guard is preparing a rescue helicopter right now," Miki informed, "but it might not even get off the ground before that tanker wrecks."

"I'll send the instruction barriers to the shore," Megumi stated, "to protect people on land.

"Wait! Just hold on," Marcus ordered. "If that tanker's coming out to get me, then I should go out to face it so no one else is put in harm's way."

"What're you talking about?" Sampson demanded. It sure as hell sounded crazy to me. How exactly does one face an oil tanker?

"If that tanker wants a fight, then I'm gonna give it a fight like it's never seen before," Marcus stated with his usual determination.

"That's ridiculous!" Thomas exclaimed.

"I can't say it's seen that many fights," I crossed my arms over my chest. What? It's not like we can talk him out of it. Hunter's the same way. Once he sets his mind on a goal, there's no stopping him.

"We'll got mano o mano, or mano o tankero, I guess."

"You know you're talking about fighting a ship," Yoshi pointed out, "right?"

"There you go again, all brawn, no brain," Lalamon said.

"I bet five bucks on the ship," I reached for my wallet, "any takers?"

"Marcus," Thomas said seriously, "we don't have time for jokes like this."

"Trust me, okay?" Marcus batted Thomas' hand away, "I'll take care of this just like I take care of everything else."

"But, Marcus, this makes no sense," Thomas tried to reason, "even for you!" Have I mentioned that he needs to work on his people skills?

"Be quiet," Marcus scowled, "I'll handle it." Then he took off again without even waiting for Agumon who had to chase after him but ended up running smack into the door.

"This is the most knuckle-headed thing that knuckle-head has ever done!" Yoshi yelled angrily.

"I know," Thomas replied, "and with all he's done, that's really saying something."

"Shouldn't we try to stop him? Preferrably, efore he gets himself killed," I suggested to them. What could Marcus possibly be thinking?! This isn't something he can handle with brute force. Especially not without his Digimon!

"I'm not so sure," Commander Sampson interrupted. "After all, Marcus is just trying to keep people safe."

"That's what the Data Squad is all about," Kudamon reminded us.

"Fine, let him go on his own," Thomas said childishly. "Fool's errand. The rest of us still have to find a way to stop that tanker."

"Then let's get to it," Yoshi agreed. Agumon took off to find Kristy while the rest of us remained in the dark control room with the screens all pulled up.

It seemed to me that nothing would be able to stop this oil tanker except our Digimon in their Champion forms, but that would cause us too much exposure. Miki and Megumi kept their eyes on their screens to figure out what kind of Digimon we're dealing with. "Using the Digimon's behavior, and the energy signal we detected, we believe that we've been able to identify the Digimon," Megumi stated. She pulled up a picture of the Digimon in suspect. "Soulmon, it's a Champion level ghost Digimon."

"Well, look at that, Agumon was right," I said to Thomas.

"Unfortunately," Miki continued, "because of its small size and because it has the ability to turn itself invisible, we won't be able to detect it with our Digimon radar."

"This is going to be difficult," Kudamon stated.

"If only we could find a way to see the little creep, then it would be easy to catch it," Yoshi said.

"Yoshino," Kudamon said, "you're becoming more and more like Marcus everyday." I giggled a little bit at that statement. Yoshi? Like Marcus?

"You take that back!" Yoshi screeched.

"Yoshi, calm down," I laughed.

"It's not funny!" she exclaimed.

"No, of course not," I said to calm her down. Then she saw Thomas staring intently at a screen.

"What is it, Thomas?" Yoshi asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's Soulmon," Thomas replied, "maybe there is a way."

"You have an idea how we can find it?" Commander Sampson asked.

"Maybe," Thomas said.

"Well, come on idea-man," I prompted. So Thomas told us his hypothesis, and I mentally slapped myself for not coming up with it first. Well, that's a genius for you. "What're we doing sitting around here for?" I asked while everyone was still on the subject. "Le'ts get to Marcus _before_ this whole building gets turned into a DNA pancake."

Thomas and I ran around the building to where the ship was closing in, and Yoshi went to get the speedboat. Kristy was facedown on the cement and reaching for her brother calling and pleading for him to stop. Thomas crouched down next to the girl and said her name, "Marcus would never run. I suppose that's just the kind of guy he is." He sounded reassuring, and he seemed, in that moment, to respect Marcus' ability to never back down, "But you probably already knew that."

"He'll get hurt," Kristy said sadly. Guiltily. She looked so horrified and afraid in that moment that I just had to pull her into a hug to offer some comfort to her.

"Not on my watch," I told her.

"Don't you worry, he's not going to get smushed by that tanker. That is _never _going to happen, because I won't let it," Thomas promised her. I helped Kristy get up, and we all walked up to Marcus.

"It's fightin' time!" he announced.

"You're talking to a boat," Thomas pointed out.

Marcus jumped in surprise, "Chris, Thomas, Kristy, why are you here?"

"To save you from yourself," Thomas said in that voice he has just for Marcus. "You can thank me anytime."

"I can do what?!" Marcus exclaimed and turned his glare on me.

I put my hands up in surrender, "Don't look at me, man. I'm just here to watch the show."

"Listen closely, Kristy," Thomas turned to Kristy. "You never actually put any curse on your brother. There's just no such thing as a curse. No matter how much Marcus might deserve to have one put on him. An invisible Digimon heard what you said and made your so-called curses come true."

"I see. The Digimon pulled pranks without being seen so it looks like they happened by magic," Kristy realized. Not only is she polite, _but _she's also _intelligent_. Are they absolutely sure they're siblings?

"Exactly," Thomas confirmed.

"So the Digimon did all that banana peel and street sign stuff?" Marcus asked, "And also…the tanker!"

"Glad _somebody_ finally remembered that," I rolled my eyes.

"Chris!" Coronamon shushed from my Digivice.

Yoshi finally got the white and blue speed boat to the dock, "Marcus, Thomas, Chris!"

"Yoshi?" Marcus exclaimed.

"Tanker's captain sent a message that he can't get near the rudder. Something keeps getting in his way," she reported.

"I was expecting something like this," Thomas said insightfully. Seriously, does he always have to be three steps ahead of everyone? It's not exactly something I think I can get used to. "Soulmon must be on the ship guarding the rudder. Let's go." He started towards the speedboat, but Marcus pulled him back by his collar.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Marcus demanded.

"I'm going to get the Digimon, of course," Thomas retorted. "Why?"

"I already told you, Thomas, this is my fight. Now, let's go," he got around Thomas and into the boat.

"Me too!" Agumon got in as well.

"Marcus!" Kristy said worriedly. Her brother stopped and turned to look at her questioningly.

"Relax, I'll be fine," he said confidently," and you know it wouldn't be me if I didn't teach this Digimon a lesson."

"Of course not," Thomas shrugged. He took a spray can out of his pocket and tossed it to Marcus, "Here, catch." Marcus fumbled with the object before finally holding it firmly in his hands. "Use that."

"What is it?" Marcus asked.

"An example of the magic we call science," Thomas replied smartly.

"It's what?" Marcus asked unknowingly.

"I like to call it odeur de peinture," I smirked, knowing that I wasn't being helpful at all. Then Yoshi left us with a spray of water as they took off.

Thomas stood looking out at the water, "Simple science. Bind something visible to the invisible Digimon, and it won't be invisible anymore."

"I could've told you that much," I pointed out. I looked down at Kristy and then at the giant Soulmon that had the orange and blue striped Geogreymon in its oversized fist. I watched her while she watched Geogreymon throw Soulmon by its own arm. I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized her. "Thomas," I said in a low whisper that he could hear, "have you ever wondered about how and why Digimon come to our world?"

"Huh?" I distracted him from the scene on the boat. He looked down at me questioningly, "Well, yes, of course. Often."

"Right now," I said thoughtfully, "I'm wondering…what's the connection? Why do Digimon only appear at certain times, in certain places, to certain people? Why do they align themselves with specific individuals, but not others?" I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but I figure that Thomas would be able to. The tanker slowed in the water and stopped a yard away from DATS headquarters. "Oh, wow," I laughed, erasing the seriousness of the conversation.

"That was close," Thomas stated. Kristy ran up to her brother as soon as he got off the speedboat with a Digi-Egg under his arm and hugged him. At first he seemed apologetic, and then it appeared as if Kristy was scolding him. I joined the others at the edge of the dock.

"I say that all the time!" Agumon said in reply to something Kristy said.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said coolly, "did you say something, Agumon?"

"Good one, that never gets old!" Agumon waved his arms wildly while we laughed at them. I noticed Commander Sampson walk up to Thomas who was staring into space thoughtfully. _Good,_ I thought,_ he's thinking about what I mentioned earlier._ Maybe Thomas can figure out the mystery.

**_A/N...What'd ya think? Am I doing okay? Please review, no flames, though. If you want to give suggestions, please message me. Thanks_**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey," Yoshi pulled me out of my thoughts and back to earth, "what's on your mind?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I laughed embarrassedly, "I'm just wondering what I'm going to do for dinner. Coronamon and I sort of cleaned out the fridge." The two of us walked next to each other back to the building while Agumon and Kristy raced each other.

"If ya needed a place to eat," Marcus said, overhearing us, "you can always come over sometime."

"Thanks, Marcus, but I wouldn't want to impose," I turned him down politely.

"It's no problem at all!" Agumon said, "Marcus' mom loves to cook! She makes the best fried eggs ever! You should definitely come for dinner, Chris!"

"Yeah!" Kristy nodded in agreement with a wide smile on her face, "Please, Chris? Only if you aren't busy or anything, though."

Now who could resist that face? Not me. "Okay, we'll be there. Just let me know when you want me to be there and what the address is," I said to Marcus. "You mom won't mind, will she?"

"Nah. I'm sure she'd love to meet you anyway," Marcus said without any concern. "Yoshi's giving us a ride back, so you can come along if you want." Well, that works out. I have a change of clothes in the locker room so I don't have to go home right away. Whatever works, I guess.

"Takahashi," Commander Sampson called as we passed him. Everyone kept walking, but I stopped where I was and turned to face him. "I'd like to have a work with you in the control room before you go," he requested.

"Sure thing, Commander," I replied and went to change. The locker rooms really didn't look any different from the ones in a gym or school. I took my bag out of my locker and walked into a changing stall. I took my usual yellow long sleeve, black hoodie vest, and black jeans and changed into them. I folded my uniform neatly and replaced it into the duffel bag. When I walked out, Yoshi was tying up her white high tops, and she wore a light pink top and light jean capris. "The Commander wanted to talk to me, can I meet up with you guys outside?" I asked her. From the sounds of it, Commander Sampson didn't want to have a friendly conversation about the weather.

"Sure, no prob," she smiled at me, "I'll take your bag out to the car."

I smiled at her back, "Thanks." I walked out of the locker room and pulled my gray hood low over my face and put my hands into the pocket across the front of the vest. I walked past the boys' locker room and passed Thomas who just got out. He wore his usual loose green V-neck and white pants. When we passed each other we stopped at the same time.

"I didn't know you can speak French," Thomas said nonchalantly before he walked away. Actually, I'm multilingual. I speak five languages. He sounded curious and a little bit surprised. I'm not offended or anything. I'm sure he probably thinks I'm a bit dense, but I'm really not. Not at all. Quite the opposite in fact.

"Takahashi, good, I'm glad you're here," Commander Sampson said when I walked into the control room. The lights were turned off because it was just about time for all of us to go home. I stood there, shifting weight from one foot to the other.

"You asked to see me, Commander," I poited out.

"Yes, I did…"

"I know what you're gonna say," I said promptly. "I'm sure Commander Pierce already told you, sir." Yeah. I'm sure she already told him everything there is to know. It was all on file. Everything about me from the time I met Coronamon to now.

"She did," Commander Sampson confirmed. I stood there, waiting to hear what he has to say. "For the last two assignments, you haven't been putting in your all, have you, Chris?"

"No, sir," I replied simply. Well, there's really not anything else for me to say addressing the question. I haven't been putting in my best efforts.

"Why?" Kudamon asked suspiciously.

I stood there with my head down, thinking about how to phrase this, "Well, sir, it seems to me that your team has everything under control. They may not be very efficient in their methods sometimes, but they know what they're doing. I haven't yet had a reason nor an opportunity to include myself."

"And you're okay with that?" the Commander asked me.

"I don't really care, sir," I replied coolly. "I'll pitch in when I have to, but for now…I'll do what any normal person would do." I was wondering when this was going to come up. It isn't really a secret as much as it is a well-guarded fact. I'm not ashamed, embarrassed, or afraid. I just don't think I need it yet. You see, I'm different than other members of DATS. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one like me.

"Okay then, Chris. You better get going. I wouldn't want to keep you from a meal," he dismissed me.

"Thank you, Commander," I walked out with my hands in my pocket and head full of thoughts.

_Am I really okay with just standing around like this?_

_ I could have stopped that ship._

_ I'm not used to standing on the sidelines like this._

_ Then again, they have special talents of their own. _

_ I've never seen someone stand up to a Digimon like Marcus…_

"Chris?" Coronamon's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, Coronamon?" I answered.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern. I couldn't see her because her data was stored in my Digivice, but I'm sure it showed on her face that she worried about me. I unclipped my Digivice from my belt loop and looked at her face on the screen.

"Of course," I replied calmly.

Irritation flickered in her eyes, "Chrisanne Takahashi take that hood off right now and look at me!" she ordered me.

I sighed and pulled the hood down, I locked my gaze on hers evenly, "Happy now?"

She crossed her arms and nodded at me haughtily, "Mhmm." Coronamon's voice changed to a gentle and supportive tone, "You're happy here, Chris. We both are. Don't ruin it."

Coronamon was right. I do have a habit of screwing things up sometimes the same way Marcus makes dumb mistakes with good intentions. Things were going well here. We're in a good place, with good people. How often does that happen? DATS is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't screw up my career here after I've come so far, and I _can't _lose Coronamon. I smiled at the screen and nodded, "You're right. Don't worry, Coronamon, I've got it under control."

When I walked out of the building, Yoshi was sitting on the hood of the car and Marcus sat on the front steps with Agumon and Kristy. Marcus looked up and spotted me, "There she is. What took ya so long? Get in trouble?" he had that look on his face that little kids have when someone's called to the principal's office.

"Nope," I shoved him when I passed. "You're such a little kid, Marcus," I teased with a smile.

"Hey! What was that?" Marcus jumped up like I challenging him.

"Easy, Marcus," I put my hands up in surrender. "Don't you ever get tired of fighting people?"

Yoshi sighed and walked around to the driver's seat, "Nope. He never stops. We should get going before your mom starts worrying." Marcus, Kristy, and Agumon piled into the backseat, and I sat shotgun. "What did Commander Sampson want to talk to you about?" Yoshi asked on the way to the Damons' house.

"It was nothing," I smiled at her reassuringly.

Marcus' and Kristy's house was exceedingly average. Two floors, simple exterior colors, and when I walked inside, I felt what Thomas' house was lacking. I took off my shoes and let myself be pulled inside by Kristy.

"Mom, we're home!" Marcus shouted. A woman who appeared to have a kind face and delicate features walked to us from where I assume to be the kitchen. Well, Kristy certainly takes after her mother. Mrs. Damon was fair-skinned and her light brown hair was twisted over her right shoulder.

"Welcome home," she greeted her children and Agumon.

"This is Chris, is it okay if she stays for dinner?" Kristy asked her mother.

Mrs. Damon looked me over. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Damon. My name's Chris Takahashi. I hope I'm not intruding," I said embarrassedly.

Mrs. Damon smiled at me, "Not at all. We'd love to have you for dinner. Are you one of Marcus' friends?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied politely. "I work with Marcus, and this is my partner, Coronamon."

"Hello, Mrs. Damon," Coronamon smiled and waved.

"Well, it's nice to meet both of you," Mrs. Damon said. "Please, make yourselves at home. I was just preparing dinner. With those two around, I practically have to cook a buffet."

"I'd be happy to help you if you need it," I offered.

"Me too, Mrs. Damon," Coronamon offered.

"Thank you, Chirs," she said and led us to the kitchen. "It's nice to have a couple more hands in here for once." Mrs. Damon turned out to be one of the nicest women I've ever met. Other than the Pruitts, I've never really been around a stable home environment. It was nice to be in a home that was filled with love and family.

We helped Mrs. Damon set the table when we finished in the kitchen. She asked me questions about where I was from and how I was adjusting. I told her. I'm from Chicago, but I work in New York City. I'm adjusting fine thanks to everyone at DATS. "Your parents certainly are lucky to have you," she remarked. "Aren't they worried that you're so far from home?"

I set another plate and then looked up at her with a sad smile, "Actually, they don't really care."

Mrs. Damon looked at me questioning and disbelieving, "Oh, I'm sure that's not true. They must be worried about you…" My smile faded. Coronamon looked at me sympathetically. Mrs. Damon was quick to apologize, "I'm so sorry, Chris. I didn't mean to…"

I looked up at her with a jolt and tried to give her a reassuring smile, "No, no. It's no problem, really." I straightened up the utensils, "It's not that my parents don't care about what I do. They're just very busy people. The truth is, my parents divorced when I was a kid. I don't see much of my dad, and my mom's back in California." It was the nicest way I could explain my home situation. Mrs. Damon was such a sweet lady, and I don't want to burden her with my family life.

"Chris," Mrs. Damon put her hand over mine and looked me straight in the eye with that same look of determination Marcus has before a fight, "if you ever need anything while you're in Japan, you're welcome here anytime." Coronamon made a sound akin to one of approval when she witnessed this.

I smiled at her gratefully, "Thank you, Mrs. Damon. Now, I think dinner's ready, right? I'll go get the others."

At the table, I found out that Mrs. Damon's cooking was just as good as Agumon told me. I also found out that the boys' table manners didn't get any better at home. Mrs. Damon asked how the day went, and we told her that it went pretty well. What we did leave out was that Kristy went missing for the majority of it. After the meal, I thanked them for having me.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Damon," I said gratefully.

"It was so nice to meet you, Chris, do come again soon. Where are you staying?" she asked. I gave her the address and asked for directions while I was at it. She told me how to get there, but she had a concerned expression on her face, "Marcus, maybe you should walk her home…"

"What?" Marcus exclaimed, "Why do I gotta do it?"

I protested quickly, "It's okay, Mrs. Damon. I can take care of myself. Really, I'll be fine."

"If you're absolutely sure," she said hesitantly. I felt touched by her concern.

"I am," I promised her. "Thanks again for the meal. Have a nice night!" Then I walked away. That was a nice change of pace. For the last few days, I've been eating at Thomas' and at home with Coronamon. Mrs. Damon reminded me of Mrs. Pruitt, so I had some sense of familiarity there.

I got a couple blocks away from the Damon household when Coronamon spoke up, "That was nice, wasn't it, Chris?" She fell asleep on their couch after dinner so I stored her data in my Digivice. I heard her yawn and continue speaking, "Mrs. Damon was so kind to us."

"Marcus is definitely a lucky guy," I stated. My apartment wasn't that far away from the Damons', maybe a ten minute walk away. I was almost there, but then I heard something weird. It was muffled laughter; like someone was trying not to laugh. I stopped walking and turned around. There was nobody there, but I could have sworn that the laughter was coming from behind me. My hand went to my belt loop and removed the Digivice. I held it tightly.

I heard the withheld laughter again and saw a shadow run down the street at the intersection. It was so fast that I only saw that it was short. Maybe around Agumon's or Coronamon's height. Not as tall as Kristy. I couldn't be sure. I was about to chase after it, but I saw something, or, rather, someone of more importance. There was a man lying on the sidewalk with blood pooling around him. I ran to his side and rolled him onto his back. The source of the blood was his arm. I touched it, and I came to the realization that not only had the attacker gone through skin and muscle. This man's bones were crushed. I quickly took off my hoodie, and then my shirt. I kneeled there wearing a black tanktop, using my long sleeve top to make a tourniquet. He appeared to be unconscious. "Sir?!" I called out, trying to get a response. Nothing. I checked his pulse. It was slow and faint, but it was there, so was his breathing. I took my phone out and called for an ambulance.

The man's name was Norio Kobayashi. He taught at a local high school, and his wife said that he had gone outside to get the mail when I found him. Mrs. Kobayashi allowed me to ride with her to the hospital. I questioned her while we were in the car. She said that it was a safe neighborhood and attacks like this didn't happen. I already knew that this wasn't a mugging.

The hospital was like any other that I've been to. Mrs. Kobayashi went into the hospital to be with her husband. The first thing I did was call Thomas.

"Hello?" he asked when he picked up.

"Hey, Thomas, it's me. I'm at the hospital near Marcus' house," I said.

"What?! Why are you at the hospital?" he exclaimed.

"I'm fine," I informed him quickly, "but I need you to check something out. Can you come over here?"

"I'll be there as soon as possible," he promised. After that, I walked into the busy hospital and asked to be directed to Mrs. Kobayashi. At first, the receptionists firmly told me I wouldn't be allowed to see neither her nor Mr. Kobayashi since I'm not family. I left my duffel bag in Mrs. Kobayashi's car and, with it, my badge.

"You have to let me speak to Mr. Kobayashi's doctor," I insisted.

"I'm sorry, miss, but seeing as you are not related to Mr. Kobayashi, I'm afraid I cannot inform you of Mr. Kobayashi's condition," the woman at the desk sounded annoyed.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed in frustration, "I'm a special agent. My badge is in Mrs. Kobayashi's car. It is imperative that I keep up with Mr. Kobayashi's state!"

She just looked at me like I was crazy, "Miss, I'm afraid that if you don't leave, I'm going to have to call security."

I was just about to tell her where she could shove her security, but someone called my name. It was Thomas. He was standing right behind me, "What's going on?"

"Are you with her?" the woman gave him an accusatory glare.

"Yes," Thomas said coolly. "What's the problem?"

"There's a patient whose condition we need to know, but _she_ won't let me speak with his doctor," I motioned to the woman behind the desk.

"Who is it you're so keen on seeing?" Thomas asked.

"Norio Kobayashi's doctor," I replied.

Thomas sighed and spoke to the woman, "My name's Dr. Thomas H. Norstein. My associate and I are looking for Mr. Norio Kobayashi's doctor."

She looked at him disbelievingly, "_You're_ a doctor?" Thomas didn't have to answer her. One of the nurses looked up at him and gasped.

She whispered something to the receptionist that sounded something like, "That's Thomas Norstein. The boy genius. He graduated Stockholm Royal University of Science last year."

The receptionist's eyes widened, "Oh. What can I do for you, Dr. Norstein?" I slumped and narrowed my eyes unamusedly. I just stood there arguing with her for ten minutes, and now she's all hospitable just because Thomas gave her his _name_.

"We just wanna see Mr. Kobayashi's doctor, dammit!" I exploded angrily.

"Oh, of course," she said with a smile plastered on her face. She paged a Dr. Ishikawa and suggested that we wait in the waiting room with the other family and friends of the other patients. Thomas thanked her for her cooperation.

"Cooperation my ass," I muttered while we walked away.

Thomas looked down at me when I collapsed into a chair, massaging my forehead, "What's all this about, Chrisanne?"

"I was walking home from Marcus' when I heard something. It was laughter, but it wasn't hushed. Like whoever was laughing was trying not to. Then something ran down the street. I didn't get to see it, but I don't think it was human. That was when I saw Mr. Kobayashi. His left arm was bleeding heavily. He was unresponsive, but he was alive," I reported.

"Chrisanne," Thomas said gently, putting a hand on my arm and kneeling to look me in the eye, "do you think a Digimon was responsible for this?"

"It's possible," I replied.

"But highly unlikely," Thomas objected. "It sounds to me like he was assaulted on the street…"

I shook my head, "That's what i thought too, but it didn't seem like it. If he was assaulted, someone would have a reason, right? A motive."

Thomas nodded, "A thief, most likely."

"Mr. Kobayashi was wearing a watch. Gold-tone stainless steel. water resistant, scratch-resistant, worth one hundred sixty-five U.S. dollars," I informed him. "A thief would have noticed and taken it. Besides, there would have been signs of a struggle."

"Let's just hear what the doctor has to say," Thomas suggested.

"Alright," I sighed and leaned back. Thomas sat next to me and looked at me strangely. "What's up?" I asked him.

"You know a lot about watches," he noted.

I laughed, "Oh. My father deals in them." I hoped that would be enough of an explanation for him. He continued to look at me strangely.

"Chrisanne?" Thomas asked, "Where's your shirt?" I looked down. I was wearing my vest over my tanktop. I almost forgot about my shirt. Oh well. I have a bunch at home just like it.

"I used to to stop the bleeding," I shrugged. He gave me a look of surprise, but he didn't comment on it further.

"How was dinner at the Damons?" he asked conversationally.

"It was nice," I replied. "Mrs. Damon was very kind."

"She's a wonderful person. Kristy takes after her," Thomas said fondly. I wondered where Marcus' father was but decided to to address it. It's none of my business.

"You like Kristy's company, don't you?" I asked amusedly. It was so obvious that Kristy had a little crush on Thomas after the way she acted this morning. I guess I can't really say that I'm surprised. Thomas was very polite and kind when he wanted to be.

"Excuse me," a man in a white labcoat walked up to us. He had red hair and held a clipboard in his hand, "Dr. Norstein? It's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Ishikawa. You were inquiring about Norio Kobayashi'a condition?"

"Yes, sir," Thomas replied.

"Mr. Kobayashi is in intensive care," Dr. Ishikawa reported. "He should live, but his arm is beyond repair…"

"Do you know what happened to him?" I asked.

"It appears that his radius and ulna were completely crushed by an animal's jaws," he informed us.

"Do you mind if I see Mr. Kobayashi?" Thomas asked.

"Not at all. Maybe you can do something for him, Dr. Norstein."

Thomas turned to me, "Chrisanne, the car's waiting outside, why don't you go home? You've had a busy day."

"Tell me what they say," I said before walking out of the hospital. Thomas' butler drove me back to my apartment. I thanked him before he dropped me off and returned for Thomas. Coronamon physically realized when I got into my apartment.

"Chris? Are you okay?" Coronamon asked worriedly.

I shook my head and pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around my legs, "In all the time that I've been on DATS…no, in all the time that I've been _alive_, I've never seen something like that."

"Dr. Ishikawa said that Mr. Kobayashi's arm was crushed by an animal…" Coronamon started.

"Yeah," I confirmed.

Coronamon gave me a long look then asked, "You don't think it was an animal, do you?"

I shook my head, "I think I need a shower. Good night, Coronamon."

"Good night, Chris," my partner said.

The next morning, I woke up at seven o'clock. I trudged out of my bedroom and stretched, "Hey, Coronamon, what do you want for breakfast?" I wandered into the kitchen with my eyes closed, and when I opened them I saw Coronamon sitting at the table with a large spread of breakfast foods in front of her.

"Sorry for intruding," a familiar masculine voice said apologetically, "but I brought breakfast." I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Yup. Thomas H. Norstein was sitting at my small dining table at seven in the morning while I stood there with my hair in a messed up ponytail wearing a large T-shirt and basketball shorts.

"Coronamon, you know that we don't let strangers in when I'm sleeping," I said and turned around, heading back to my room.

"Thomas isn't a stranger, though, Chris," Coronamon said in confusion. I shut the door, locked it, and changed into my usual jeans, vest and a different yellow shirt. I headed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and combed my hair before I returned to my kitchen.

"Good morning, Coronamon," I greeted brightly and turned to Thomas and Gaomon, giving them the same greeting.

"I hope we're not intruding," Thomas said. The amusement was apparent in his voice.

"Not at all," I replied and sat at the table. "I'm just a bit surprised."

"Chrisanne," Thomas said solemnly, "Mr. Kobayashi died in the hospital at three-twenty this morning." I put down the bagel I was just about to eat and looked at Thomas.

"Do they know how?" I asked him.

"Nobody's sure," Thomas said darkly. "Dr. Ishikawa believes that he had a heart attack, but…Mr. Kobayashi was in perfect health without a history of cardiac complications. One of the other doctors suspects that he lost too much blood, but he hadn't…" Thomas trailed off, and I couldn't hear him. He shook his head, "It was as if his life drained away last night. His condition stabilized, and the bleeding stopped. We all thought…"

"I'm sorry," I said sullenly. I thought of his wife, Mrs. Kobayashi. The woman had been terrified last night; she was probably torn up right now. I would have to visit her some time.

"I think that we should report this to Commander Sampson," Thomas suggested gently.

I nodded, "Yeah." I put my shoes on and followed Thomas to the car. He sat across from me as usual, but he watched me while we drove to work. I smiled and laughed lightly, "You don't have to look at me like that, Thomas."

"Huh?" he asked confusedly.

"You're looking at me like I'm going to burst into tears or something," I remarked and looked out the window watching the suburbs pass by. "What happened to Mr. Kobayashi was terrible, but I'm not going to breakdown because of it. So, please, don't look at me like that," I requested.

"Alright," he said and looked out the window. We endured the rest of the ride in silence with our Digimon sitting at our sides. Thomas and I parted ways to go to the dressing rooms. I put on my yellow one piece suit, matching jacket, and the belt where I clipped my Digivice to. I put on both of my white boots and walked out of the stall while putting my hair into a low ponytail. I put my bag into my locker.

"Chris, there's nothing you could have done for him that what you did," Coronamon assured me.

I shook my head and punched the wall, "When I find who did this…they're going to pay."

I met up with the others in the control room. Thomas was the first to notice me walk in, "She's here. Chrisanne, I think you should tell them."

I shrugged, "Sure."

"What happened?" Marcus asked suspiciously, looking from me to Thomas and back.

"On the way back from the Damons' yesterday night, I encountered a man who was bleeding out on the sidewalk in front of his house. His name was Norio Kobayashi, a teacher at a local school. His entire arm was crushed, but he was still alive. An ambulance took him to the hospital, and his wife drove me with her. Once I got there, I called Thomas. Thanks to him, we were able to keep tabs on Mr. Kobayashi's condition. According to the doctors in charge, Mr. Kobayashi's arm was crushed by an animal's jaws biting down on him."

"Mr. Kobayashi's condition stabilized at ten forty-eight yesterday night," Thomas took over with the details for when I wasn't there. "He died of unknown causes at three-twenty this morning." The room was silent. Even Megumi and Miki ceased typing.

"You think a Digimon did this?" Commander Sampson asked me.

I nodded, "Yes, sir, I do."

Marcus shook his head in disbelief, "I don't believe it. The Digimon do some pretty bad things, but…murder?"

"You have to remember, Marcus, Digimon _are_ capable of doing it," Coronamon pointed out sadly.

"But…Coronamon…" Agumon started to say.

"The doctors said they didn't know what caused it, right?" Yoshi asked.

"That's right," Thomas confirmed.

"Maybe it was just a natural death," Yoshi suggested.

Thomas shook his head, "They don't know what caused his death because _nothing_ caused it. He was perfectly healthy. His arm was amputated, and the bleeding stopped. His condition was completely stable. We shouldn't have lost him." I noticed how frustrated Thomas was that they lost this patient.

"It's worth looking into," Commander Sampson decided. "See what you can find out about Kobayashi."

"Right," Yoshi nodded once.

"Isn't this a job for the police?" Marcus wondered.

"They've already decided that he was attacked by a wild dog," I told him. I know that it's greusome and none of us really want to believe that a Digimon could be capable of something like this, but some Digimon don't have the natural sense of justice that others do.

"Commander," Miki said, "there's a man downstairs who's asking to speak to you. He says his name is Carter Bright." Thomas' eyes widened in surprise, whilst mine narrowed in annoyance. Can my day get any worse? I think that there's been enough trouble today. This is the last thing I need.

"Who's Carter Bright?" Marcus asked unknowingly.

"He's the son of Leroy Bright, the president of Bright Enterprises," Thomas stated.

"Huh?" Marcus still didn't know.

"You know," Yoshi pressed, "Bright Airlines, Bright Electronics, Bright Cosmetics…all of those companies are owned by Leroy Bright."

"Ohhh," it dawned on Marcus how important this visitor was. "What's a guy like that doing here?" he wondered.

"I'll take care of it," I ground out and took measured steps towards the door. "Coronamon, stay here." Coronamon squeaked in protest before falling silent.

I heard Marcus talking as I walked out of the control room, "Jeez, what's her problem?" My problem? My problem is that a Digimon just committed a felony and now I have to deal with _this_. I have to say that this is not the way I want to spend my Sunday morning. I stormed out of the elevator and up to Carter Bright. He wore a green dress shirt with black slacks, a leather belt, and turquoise bow tie. His brown hair was neatly gelled and styled, his violet eyes regarded me with thinly veiled annoyance.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded in English. "You're supposed to be in Europe." For someone in Europe, it seemed an awful lot like he was in _Japan_.

He looked down on me, literally, "I asked to speak to the commander."

I crossed my arms indignantly, "Commander Sampson doesn't need to be bothered by _you._ Now, what are you doing here?" I scrutinized him carefully. He wore a silver band around his middle finger on his left hand and a gold-tone watch. Now that I looked more closely, I could see that everything else he wore was designer. I scoffed, "God, you look like a pampered rich kid."

"And you look like a commoner," he retorted. Was that supposed to hurt? He sighed impatiently, "Father is very unhappy at the moment…"

"I hear that a pet makes people's mood improve," I said dryly.

He glared at me with impatience and unamusement, "He wants to speak to you."

I barked out a laugh, "_He_ wants to talk to me so he sent _you_? Now, what do _you_ think is wrong with that sentence?"

"Father is very busy, as you know," he replied.

"Well, you can tell your father that if he wants to speak to me he can do it himself," I snapped and turned away to return to the control room. This was a waste of time. There's a case that needs to be solved, and I'm down here arguing with Carter Bright. He grabbed my arm, and I whipped around to retaliate, but he anticipated it. He grabbed me by that wrist and let go of my arm. "Let go," I ordered in a low voice.

The disdain he felt for me was written plain on his face. It doesn't matter to me. The feeling's mutual. "You can tell him yourself," he hissed. "He's your father, too."

_**A/N...I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Oh well. This case is going to focus mostly on Chris and Coronamon. Let me know what you think.**_


End file.
